Skip to content

Controlled Vocabulary Term Request Process

This serves as a guide for the process of requesting a new controlled vocabulary term.

  1. Identify the vocabulary/term set the term will fall under. For example, if you would like to add a term that denotes or describes a particular experimental technique, then you should identify where similar terms reside. If there is no identified vocabulary/term set for the term, then you should make sure to include that information (no current term set) in the request.

  2. Search for the term in the identified term set (from step #1). Be sure to look for variations in spelling, capitalization, acronyms, etc. If no existing term matches your new term, then take a look at an outside resource (like OLS or NIH CDE) to see if the term exists in any other ontologies or databases. Be sure to record the IDs of any matches you find (this will make integration run more smoothly).

  3. Fill out a Controlled Vocabulary Term Request issue. You will be prompted to enter the following information:

    Term Label

    [the English language label of the term]

    Synonyms/Aliases

    [any synonyms or aliases of the term (including acronyms, abbreviations, and the like)]

    Definition

    [free text, with references (use PMID:XXXXXX or DOI for formatting)]

    Parent Term

    [under which term should this term be placed]

    Your ORCID

    [ORCID]

    Notes

    [any additional information that would be helpful]

  4. Submit the issue to the CDS Metadata repo.